A perfect murder

Every death has a reason. The guy sitting up in the sky decides who lives and who dies. When ordinary people inflict death upon others, they get punished by law but people like me who have His blessings get to enjoy life even after snuffing it out of others.

As I am going through these thoughts, it’s an hour past midnight and it is total silence apart from the stridulation of the odd cricket. I am contentedly smoking my favourite cig along with sips of vintage JW and looking at the silhouetted figure of a sleeping Ranjana, her bosom heaving with her breath. As I think about the past year and the speed with which events took place – my transfer into Crime Branch, fights with my wife Sujata over Ranjana, Sujata’s demise and promotion that I got. All in a matter of 12 months. I am living my best phase of life!

 “Yadav, we are in demand. The state police are not able to resolve this and have given it to us. Let’s finish of this serial killer business.” This was where it all started.

The Commissioner of Police (CP) in his usual cowardly manner was half asking, half trying to order me. How the hell did such an ass-hole manage to get such a coveted post? That post belongs to someone as dashing as me. I must set up a meeting with the Home Minister Deshmukh Saheb.

The CP had called me for a meeting early morning. I had barely slept that night. Ranjana was a tough lady to please and she had BIG demands. Though I am just in my early forties, I had to challenge myself biologically to keep her satisfied. I was tired of Sujata. Ranjana was the one who understood me and my needs. Sujata was not giving me divorce despite my offer of 50 lakhs. Her existence in my life was the biggest reason for me being upset all the time. I hated her face, I hated her body, I hated just about everything about her. God knows what my parents saw in her when they married her to me. I was seriously thinking of a way to get her out of my life.

The CP went on, “The information that we have says this person is about 40 years old, male and targets women who live alone. The pattern that is emerging is a woman staying alone is raped and murdered by asphyxiation using a plastic bag around her face and her hands tied.  There are also several bites on the face. Till now there have been 4 such cases. Read the file carefully, select your own team and get going. We need to report to Deshmukh Saheb every alternate day. And Yadav you will brief me every day”.

That day I gathered my own team. I asked and got PSI Salunkhe and 2 other smart constables. PSI Pramod Shirke also met me and asked me if he could join my team. I knew that his service record was impeccable and that he would be useful to me.

I told him that I would surely find a suitable job for him. After briefing my team, I gave them sufficient funds from my kitty and we started going. I preferred working that way. Others ask their subordinates to spend first and then ask for reimbursement. My informant network was one of the best in the city and I always believed in distributing money within those who worked with me. This was one of the reasons why I had been successful in cracking high-profile cases.

We had made good progress within the first three months. We also managed to get CCTV footage of the suspect and match it with the time the crimes were committed. But this guy always seemed to be one step ahead of us. The trace on phone records proved useless. It was when we were role playing the mind of this criminal, that we got a lead on the daily pattern of the victims. Each of the victims used to visit temples regularly. The suspect used to stalk the victims at temples and establish a connection with them. This lead proved successful and we were able to zero in on the man we wanted!

It was at this time that I got the signal from the man in the sky. I suddenly found out a way to get Sujata out of my life and put her on her final journey.

Though it was clear as sunlight that our suspect was the one we were looking for, I put two constables on the tail of our suspect. There wasn't a chance of any leak as my team had sworn allegiance to me. They also knew the cost of not following my instructions. I told my team that lets follow the suspect for a few days and try to gather as much evidence as possible. Separately I told Salunkhe that between the two of us we will have to take the suspect down in an encounter rather than spend the following months gathering evidence and presenting it to court. Mention of the word “encounter” upped Salunkhe’s interest as he would get a chance to shine in the media. The way I put it Salunkhe conveyed his acceptance. It was a pact between us. I then leaked misinformation that the suspect had sent us some messages challenging us and even targeting our families. The media gladly lapped up this masala.

Next day, I called up Babu. Originally from Bihar, this fifty year old used to do odd jobs. For me Babu was an informer and used to sell drugs. But off late his khabar’s had been more and more fails. He had been caught once in a prostitute’s murder case and I had saved his ass. he was indebted to me. I asked him to meet me in a garden in that evening.

That evening I gave him supari to kill Sujata. He was evasive and scared, but I put enough fear into him about the prostitute murder case and got him to agree. I paid him 2 lakhs in advance to get the work done and explained the plan to him.

Sujata’s was routine was boringly predictable everyday. She used to return home from her daily temple visit at seven in the evening. This was followed by cooking for herself as most of time as I used to have dinner with Ranjana. The Abhyankar’s downstairs would as usual have their TV on full volume at eight. No one would hear noises from my top floor flat. I instructed Babu that he will have to put a plastic bag over her face, tie up her hands, rape her and ensure that she dies from asphyxiation. He also had to bite her lightly at some places on the face. Exactly the way the serial killer would do.

I had a bunch of Aadhar card photo copies submitted by people renting their flats. I had used these to get a few SIM cards. I gave Babu one phone and asked him to communicate with me on the new SIM phone only. I blocked Babu’s original number as well as the new number on my personal phone.

We finalized Monday as the D Day. Once his work was done he was to send me a text on the new number. He would destroy the phone and SIM and then we would meet the same night at 11 at a spot below Indapur ghat where I would give him three lakhs and he would leave the city for the next three months. He would return the destroyed phone and SIM to me before leaving.

I called Salunkhe and asked him and his team to pick up the serial murder suspect late on Monday evening and next day take him early morning at 2 AM to a spot 10 kms on the Badlapur highway exactly opposite of my direction. He would send a message to the CP that they were on the chase of the serial murder suspect. He would also make a record in the station diary that he was leaving in pursuit of the serial killer and would also record that the serial killer was armed. I told Salunkhe that if I was not able to reach, he would complete the encounter. This way he will get credit for the encounter.

On Monday at half past eight, I got the first text from Babu that he was in my apartment building. An hour after that I got another text saying work was done and he was proceeding to Indapur ghat as planned. I called up Pramod Shirke, gave him the three lakhs that I had promised Babu, and told him to meet Babu hand him the three lakhs and then finish him off. He could keep the three lakhs for himself as a reward from me. I also asked Pramod to get hold of all personal belongings (driving license, phone, wallet) of Babu and hand them only to me. Pramod was very happy to get the chance of working with me and went to meet Babu.

I then broke the new phone and the new SIM card and threw it away. I asked the staff to call up the CP and let him know that I am getting admitted in Jehangir due to chest pains. I asked a constable to inform my house that I am being admitted in a hospital.

It was at half past nine that night that I got admitted and the routine tests started. By midnight the doctors declared that everything seemed normal and attributed the chest pains to stress. They asked me to stay in hospital for another day to monitor my health. I checked my phone and saw a message from Pramod, “Suspect in prostitute murder case killed in encounter”.

A few minutes after that, I given a sleeping pill.

When I woke up next day at around 9 AM, I saw some uniformed staff near my room. I asked for my cell phone. Salunkhe’s message said, “Serial killer case solved. Suspect killed in encounter”

After breakfast at around 9.30 the CP himself walked in to tell me the sad news that while I was admitted in the hospital, the serial killer had targeted my wife. From circumstantial evidence it is clear that Sujata was the last victim of the serial killer. While I lost my wife to the serial killer, Salunkhe got information and chased him, then had completed the encounter thus closing the case. He condoled me for my loss and told me that he had recommended me for a promotion. I had to put on a show of grief for the camera’s. The CP took the PRESS away when I became overcome with grief. I sensed the satisfaction of a task executed perfectly as I sank my head sank into the pillow.

Three months after this, thanks to my relations with Deshmukh Saheb, I was granted an out of turn promotion to the rank of Deputy CP and Ranjana moved in with me. In the end everyone was happy. Salunkhe got his award, Pramod got recognition and I got promoted. Sujata...  she did not fit in this and.... well she had to go. So every death has a reason …..

Life is at its best and I am enjoying every bit of it. Looking around I can see that its just a couple of hours before daybreak as I close my eyes in the soothing Easterly breeze.